Studio Lighting Breakdown: Capturing Commercial Portraits with LEDs

In this video, Jonathan Thorpe shares his secrets of commercial portrait lighting. Whether you're a seasoned photographer or just starting out, you won't want to miss this comprehensive lighting breakdown. You will learn valuable tips and techniques to elevate your portrait photography skills.
Gear Used:
L60-B LED: www.fjwestcott.com/collection...
Rapid Box Switch Octa-M: www.fjwestcott.com/products/r...
Rapid Box Switch 1x3: www.fjwestcott.com/products/r...
Diffusion Dome: www.fjwestcott.com/products/d...
X-Drop Pro Stand: www.fjwestcott.com/products/x...
X-Drop Pro Wrinkle-Resistant Backdrop - Pastel Blue (8' x 13'): www.fjwestcott.com/products/x...
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00:00 - Start
00:58 - Why Start From Back to Front with Lighting?
02:41 - Adding Edge Lights
04:48 - Adding a Key light
06:21 - Removing the Backlight from the Portrait
06:50 - Using Only the Key light
07:27 - Using only the Background and Key Lights

[@kavanlake871]

Nice work man 👍🏾. Thank you.

[@AbSesayPhoto]

Well done. Absolutely love it!

[@WestcottLighting]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@cameronsteel9387]

Thank you for opportunity to model for you i appreciate it

[@DeaqonJamesLV]

I actually liked the background without the back light. The darker color appeals to me. But great information as always from the Westcott team.

[@MartinV.]

Great Video!

[@WestcottLighting]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@AllNyteLova]

would this be able to produce the same effect for a full body shot? it's an amazing shot regardless! I'd just like to know the versatility/strength of the lights. :D

[@jthorpephotodotcom]

Absolutely it can

[@Mook99]

Great instructive video. Suggest a quick intro of your subject at the start of the segment.

[@johnpeterka8355]

Thank you for your video! I am trying to decide whether to migrate to Westcott. We have used Profoto, and Godox on a smaller scale. We sold all our Profoto B1's and A1's, but we retained our modifiers. So, we would either need to sell our Profoto modifiers or find adapters. If you have used other brands like Profoto and Godox, what are the benefits of Westcott? I watched a video the other day that claimed Westcott introduced horizontal lines into photos when using high speed sync. Has that glitch been resolved? Thank you. JP

[@SusanneGeert]

Thanks for sharing this;-) One question: I am curious about the shutter speed at 1/80. Why don't you use the cameras sync speed (which I don't know what is but usually around 1/200 or 1/250)? Thanks in advance ;-)

[@AutoAt]

There is no sync to permanent video lights. No flash, no sync to flash, so the decision is based on other factors (like outdoor, available light)...

[@Zetaphotography]

Lights are not powerful enough at faster shutter speeds images will be underexposed.

[@ronwurzer5138]

Thanks for sharing. And I appreciate your explanation of why LED's were used as opposed to strobe. I am curious though if commercial clients on jobs like this have any problem with the stills being shot at 1000 ISO?

[@jthorpephotodotcom]

With me shooting medium format the images are incredibly clear up to 1000 and above so a client wouldn’t have an issue

[@DeaqonJamesLV]

The question I would certainly have is how would the client even know what ISO you shot at? 😉 Most cameras today are as clean at 1200 as they are at 100 so it really shouldn't be an issue.